Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Workforce Transformation and the Rise of Industrial Society in 19th Century America
Similar to Workforce Transformation and the Rise of Industrial Society in 19th Century America (20)
More from kbeacom
More from kbeacom (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Workforce Transformation and the Rise of Industrial Society in 19th Century America
- 1. People at Work and Industrial Society p. 277-295
- 2. Native Workforce 1820’s: 90% of Americans worked and lived on farms Available unskilled workers were high enough in number for industries How do industries find workers? Transformation of American agriculture!
- 4. How? Opening of vast fertile new farmland in Midwest Improvement of transportation systems Development of new farm machinery All increased food production
- 5. Recruiting to Industries In mid-Atlantic: brought whole families from the farms to the mills Parents tended to looms alongside their children Kids could be as young as 4-5 years old In MA: enlisted young women, mostly farmers’ daughters: Lowell System or Waltham System Women used wages to help raise families later
- 6. Lowell Conditions Better than in other industries Lived in clean boarding houses and dorms Well fed and well supervised Strict curfews Regular church attendance Women quickly dismissed if accused of immoral conduct Wages were actually better than average
- 7. Problems with Lowell All new environment, away from families Lived among strangers, suffered from loneliness Repetition of tasks all day every day was tough Tedious, but what other options did they have? Barred from manual labor
- 8. Decline of Lowell Manufacturers found it tough to sustain the high living standards and good work conditions Wages declined, work hours increased Factory Girls Association: union that protested a 25% wage cut Strikes failed Women moved into other areas or married IMMIGRANTS became the solution
- 10. Immigrants Irish: Performed heavy labor Unskilled work on: Turnpikes Canals Railroads
- 11. Immigrants Prejudices against immigrants Low, low, low wages Most couldn’t support own families Lived in shanties, health risk! Use of Irish: No pressure for employers to provide for good living/working/wage conditions as there was for women
- 12. Misc. Info Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842)—approves organization of unions Unions of the time were largely ineffective; courts commonly sided w/ business, not workers Congress, state legislatures did not little to help working class Business leaders could easily replace workers w/ immigrants Most unions excluded women
- 13. The Rich & the Poor Average income rose, but some groups did not benefit Native Americans, slaves, landless farmers Wealth distributed increasingly unevenly 5% of families had 50% of nation’s wealth in 1860 A culture of wealth emerged Examples of this????
- 14. Urban Poor Growing number of homeless Depended on charity, some times crime “paupers” Immigrants—menial, low-paying jobs Free African Americans—menial, low-paying jobs, no voting rights, banned from public services
- 15. Social Mobility Class conflict was limited Absolute standard of living rose for most laborers Chances for mobility within the working class; from one class to the next, however, was rare Geographic mobility—many farmers gobbled up western land & industrial workers moved from town to town Politics—voting (white males) provided meaning/importance
- 16. Expanding Middle Class Middle class was the fastest growing group Shift away from land ownership as only means of acquiring wealth Workers & artisans became renters Middle class women increasingly stayed home
- 17. Middle Class Life Cast iron stove Iceboxes Some starting to have indoor plumbing Wider variety of foods, why? Larger homes
- 18. The Changing Family Due to shift from farm to cities Children more likely to leave family while looking for work Decline in traditional economic function of the family Two worlds—workplace & home life Birth rate fell from 7 in 1800 to 5 in 1860 Abortions, contraception
- 19. “Cult of Domesticity” Sharper roles for men & women emerge w/ Industrial Revolution Had already existed—legally, politically, academically—but became more defined Guardians of “domestic virtues”—custodians of morality & benevolence Consumers—increasing material comfort Keeping clean homes, entertaining guests, and looking stylish Created clubs and associations
- 20. “Cult of Domesticity” Increasingly secluded from public world Fewer & fewer middle class & upper class women left home for work—became the norm Lower class women had no choice, but to work Often worked in domestic service
- 21. Leisure Few vacations; emphasis on holidays Worked 6 days/week Men enjoyed taverns; women visited homes Reading—magazines, newspapers, novels Theater—loud, raucous crowds Shakespeare’s works were popular Minstrel shows PT Barnum—Freak shows Lectures
- 22. Agricultural North Agriculture declined in Northeast as farmers moved westward Truck farming, dairy farming—both took on increased importance Some industry in Northwest—Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago Meatpacking Most Northwest farmers had sizeable plots—200 acres 1840s & 1850s saw increasing prosperity for farmers
- 23. Agricultural North Americans were settling in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois by 1850 Timber, wheat, corn, potatoes, raising livestock New farm technology John Deere—steel plow McCormick Reaper Threshers
- 25. Agricultural North As people moved west, farmers became more isolated Church brought people together Connections to outside world were relished Magazines, newspapers, letters Autonomy was enjoyed & eventually looked back on nostalgically